


Hanabi

by RustedWireWitch



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Bugs & Insects, Festivals, Fireworks, Gen, M/M, Summer, Villains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:20:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24789883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RustedWireWitch/pseuds/RustedWireWitch
Summary: At a summer festival, Rex goes on a walk to clear his head after getting beaten at a game of Duel Monsters. He and Weevil go on a bug hunt. Giftfic for Viviremedy
Relationships: Dinosaur Ryuuzaki | Rex Raptor/Insector Haga | Weevil Underwood
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	Hanabi

With a shriek and a whine, another firework was loosed off into the sky, pausing in pregnant silence for an instant before erupting into a vibrant flower of red and silver. The explosion rumbled down to the earth below and the surrounding countryside was painted by the burst of light. 

  
Rex looked back at the collection of stalls and tents that were amassed at the bottom of the hill, seeming like they were a world away despite him only having been walking for around five minutes. He scowled when he saw the dark blue tent that had been hosting the Duel Monsters games, a quiet sting of rage passing through him.

  
It was quickly followed by a far more literal sting, as something small settled on his neck and bit down. It took flight and buzzed off into the warm night air before he could even swat at it, feebly slapping at himself and snarling in all directions.

  
"If you manage to get blindsided by the lowliest of bugs, I don't know why you thought you were going to do well in a test of wits like Duel Monsters."

  
Rex's eye twitched at the voice, and he wheeled on the spot to face his companion. Weevil Underwood faced him with his hands on his hips and a sinister grin plastered across his features. He was dressed in his dark green festival kimono, covered in intricate beetle designs that showed up Rex's own rather plain dark blue robes. Weevil pushed his thick glasses up the bridge of his nose and chuckled. "What kept you?"

  
"What do you mean, what kept me?" Rex hurled back, throwing his arms wide. "One minute you were there, right behind me and then the next you'd disappeared. You were supposed to be in my corner!"

  
"And I was in your corner," Weevil said with his trademark waver and sneer to his voice. "Right up until I realised that you were going to lose. Then I got bored."

  
"You got bored?"

  
"I invited you out to this festival so we could have fun. If I wanted to see Rex Raptor lose a game of Duel Monsters I'd just stay home and watch any number of tournament recap DVDs."

  
"They were all laughing at me. I've never been so humiliated."

  
"Really? You? Never?"

  
Rex's hand balled into a fist and, spotting it, Weevil backed up a step or two.

  
"Relax, I'm kidding. Come on, it's a festival, not the time to be throwing punches."

  
Rex said nothing, but gradually loosened his fist.

  
"That's more like it. Now come on, I need your help with something."

  
"Going to just abandon me somewhere else?" Rex muttered.

  
"Eh, maybe, haven't decided yet. But more importantly, I need your help with something."

  
"Why would I help you?"

  
"Is there anyone else on this hillside you want to hang out with?"

  
Rex sighed and massaged his temple. "What do you need me to do?" He opened his eyes just in time to see a glass jar hurtling towards his face. With a swift darting of his hand, he caught the missile and glared over it at Weevil.

  
"We're catching bugs!" Came the triumphant answer.

  
~

  
Over the course of the long walk up the hill and towards the light scattering of trees, Rex turned the glass jar over and over in his hands. At some point Weevil had pulled a small net on a pole from the sleeves of his kimono and he found himself wondering as to the physics of fitting it in the garment.

  
"Do you ever think about retiring?" Weevil asked without looking back.

  
"No." Rex lied. "You?"

  
Weevil was quiet for a while. A long while. 

  
"It's a young man's game, Raptor." He finally muttered.

  
"Weevil, we're still teenagers."

  
The insect duellist let out a cacophonous bout of laughter and Rex couldn't help but feel a slight pull at the corner of his own mouth. He quickly got it under control.

  
"We used to be the best. The champions." Weevil gave his net a few experimental swings. "What happened?"

"Weird magical crap happened." Rex offered. "Weird magical ghosts. Weird magical prosthetic eyes. Then we were in that weird magical cult for a while."

  
"Oh yeah," Weevil mused, sounding more than a little distracted.

  
"Card games just stopped being card games I guess."

  
They continued on in silence, their path lit by moonlight and the occasional burst of colour from the intermittent fireworks. A staggering array of insects were all about them, flitting through the grass or buzzing about their heads. A trio of small glowing fireflies spiralled about one another in a strange dance before darting off into the trees. Something scampered across Rex's foot, many legs felt through the thin fabric of his sock before skittering away. He made a conscious effort not to crush it beneath his wooden sandal.

  
"If you're looking for bugs, there's plenty around." He called out. "There's about a million on me right now. Spiders and ants and worms. And that's not counting these flying things that want my blood."

  
"I'm looking for something very specific." Weevil answered, slowing down. "Unique. Special. Not some run of the mill specimen."

  
"And are you going to tell me what it is?"

  
"The Green Bandit Beetle." There was a definite, audible reverence to the way Weevil said it.

  
"And what the hell does a Green Bandit Beetle even look li-" Rex was cut off as Weevil raised a hand to silence him, pressing his index finger to the other young man's lips. Truth be told, his aim was off as he hadn't even bothered to turn around, the tip of his finger threatening to push into Rex's nostril.

  
"Quiet. It's nearby." Weevil hissed, glaring intently into the darkness. Without another word, he pulled his finger away, only to suddenly grip Rex's hand without warning and charging headlong with him into the undergrowth. As rough grass started stinging at his ankles and shins, Rex sighed. It was going to be a very long night.

  
~

  
Weevil led them along the treeline until they reached a lone specimen of dark wood and long thin branches. The lowest of them was perhaps a good ten feet off the ground and that is where Weevil's gaze was fixed.

  
"Do you see it?" He wheezed with excitement.

  
"See what?" Rex squinted in the dark and eventually saw a slow, lazily moving object orbiting the low branch. A glistening dark green beetle flying around the limb before settling in place, taking a few steps and then taking off and repeating the process.

  
"The Green Bandit Beetle." Weevil was practically hopping on the spot.

  
"Alright, we found it, now what's the plan?"

  
"Well, we need to be quick. Once I've caught it in this net I'll need to get it to you and you'll need to get it into that jar and secure the lid as quickly as possible. Speed is the most important factor."

  
"Ok, why?"

  
"Just trust me."

  
Rex sighed. "Alright, but how are we gonna catch it? It's all the way up there."

  
"Simple," Weevil said, "You're going to lift me. Between the two of us with our combined heights plus the length of this net pole, I'll reach him for sure."

  
"So you want to catch a flying beetle with a net while being lifted into the air, then pass it down to the person who is lifting you so that they can snag it in a jar. And you want it done quick?"

  
"That's why they call them Arthropods, Rex. Because there's an _Art_ to catching them."

  
Rex grumbled and knelt down. "Fine. I'll lift you. Just shut up." Weevil grinned triumphantly as he stepped onto Rex's waiting hands and allowed the other duellist to hoist him up. 

  
There had clearly been a miscalculation when it had come to height and reach.

  
Weevil swung the net to and fro with reckless abandon, letting out a loud yelp with every swing.

  
"Almost got it, almost got it!" He screeched, planting his free hand down directly on Rex's face to steady himself. Rex felt a throbbing in his temple and he grit his teeth. Suddenly Weevil tensed up and Rex heard him yelling. "Yes! I've got it! Now, Rex, ready with that jar."

  
Rex tried his best to fumble with the lid of the glass container with one free hand, nearly losing it repeatedly. On the third attempt, he felt his grip on Weevil slipping and realised that it was a case of now or never.

  
"Weevil!" He called up.

  
"What!?"

  
"You're going to want to duck and roll when you land."

  
"When I what!?"

  
And Rex let go.

  
~

  
When the two of them finally untangled themselves from a mess of limbs and dirt and shredded grass, Rex lifted up the jar and clamped the lid down tightly until he could figure out the way to screw it on. Inside, the glimmering green beetle batted itself against the glass and fluttered its wings in impotent fury. Rex sneered at it.

  
"And now," he announced, "you're going to tell me why this thing is so important to you."

  
Weevil sat up and dusted himself off, readjusting his spectacles. The enthusiastic grin hadn't once left his face.

  
"Not to me, Rex," he said with a wink. "This is going to be important to _you_."

  
Rex slowly turned his sneer on Weevil. He made to hurl the jar over his shoulder.

  
"Wait wait wait!" Weevil screamed. "The Bandit Beetle is considered by many cultures to be a symbol of good luck. It's supposed to bring you good fortune."

  
"You dragged me all the way up here, through mud and mosquitoes and who knows what else... For a good luck charm?" Rex could feel his eye twitching with rage.

  
Weevil cast his gaze downwards, the smile finally dissolving. "I just thought that-"

  
"You just thought what, Weevil?"

  
"With good luck in a jar, you could go challenge that jerk to a rematch. Whoop him at Duel Monsters. Show him why you were one of the best."

  
Overhead, another firework lit up the sky in a haze of green and blue.

  
Rex looked from the jar to his companion and back again before letting out a groan.

  
"Come here, you weirdo." He put his arm around Weevil's shoulder. "There's probably easier ways of cheering me up, you know. Money works just fine. New cards too."

  
"Yeah, but this is more fun."

  
Rex rolled his eyes and nodded.

  
"Come on," he said, "let's go win a card game."

  
~

  
Rex took his seat at the table and placed the glass jar down next to him.

  
"Well well well," his opponent chuckled, "look who decided to show his face again. Didn't get beat bad enough the first time?"

  
"I think things are going to go very differently this time," Rex said with a grin. "I've got my good luck charm with me."

  
"The gross bug in the jar?"

  
"Damn straight the gross bug in the jar! And I've got my buddy with me." Rex folded his arms and let his grin increase in smugness.

  
"Who?"

  
"One of the best Duellist's to ever live. Weevil Unde-" He turned to motion to Weevil, and saw the entrance of the tent flapping in the breeze, the faintest wisp of green kimono fabric disappearing out into the night.

  
"Oh for the love of-" Rex slapped his hands down on the table and marched out of the tent, leaving the Beetle jar where it was. A cascade of laughter from the assembled duellists followed him as he went. Weevil had made it almost to the edge of the festival grounds by the time he finally caught up with him, passing under the red painted gate.

  
"What the hell is your problem?" Rex shouted, trying to catch his breath.

  
Weevil didn't answer, he just turned on the spot and smiled. It wasn't the same delighted grin as before. This was something more sinister.

  
"You made me go through all that just to humiliate me again?"

  
Weevil tilted his head forwards, eyeing Rex over the golden rim of his glasses.

  
Somewhere in the distance behind them, back at the tent where the duellists had been playing all night, a small sound of glass breaking could be heard. A few seconds of silence and then the most ear-splitting wave of screams erupted from the tent, coughing and wailing filling the festival grounds.

  
"What did you do?" Rex arched his eyebrow.

  
"Who me? Nothing." Weevil shrugged deeply, over-dramatically. "The Green Bandit Beetle on the other hand..."

  
"I thought you said it was a good luck charm."

  
"What? A good luck ch- Oh! Yeah, no. The Gold Bandit Beetle is supposed to bring good luck. Not the Green Bandit Beetle. I always get those two mixed up." He giggled before adding, in as deadpan a tone as he could manage, "Silly me."

  
"So what's the deal with the Green Bandit Beetle?" Rex asked, turning slightly to see people fleeing the tent and literally running for the hills.

  
"Oh the Green ones? Funny little things. Can muster up a lot of strength when they're threatened. And if they feel like they're in danger, wow, you wouldn't believe the smell they can make. Supposed to be the worst scent on earth." Weevil peered past Rex at the fleeing festival-goers. "If they got loose while in a confined space like a tent? I can't imagine how awful that would be. The people around would have that smell stuck in their nostrils for a week at least."

  
The two of them watched the duellists running, batting at their clothes and crying at the smell.

  
A grin passed between them until they were both chuckling maliciously.

  
"Shall we go before anyone starts looking for us?" Weevil asked.

  
"Best idea all night."

  
The two ran off back towards town, laughing hysterically. Above, one last golden firework burst against the black of the night sky.


End file.
